Gitche Manito’s Owl
ON THIS SUNDAY AT THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES BY THE FROZEN MISSISSIPPI, the crows are hollering and squalling wildly from the woods. Perhaps they have found Brother Great Horned Owl (or Sister) and are feeling outraged. Again. Crows love to bedevil owls.
It is the smiling story of the Ojibwa that when Gitche Manito was creating things, on the day he was to clothe all the birds in feathers, he ran out—just as he had come to Owl. He asked all the other birds to contribute a feather or two, with the understanding that when Owl grew his own feathers, he would return the borrowed ones. He never did!
So to this day, Crow bedevils Owl, often assisted by another law-enforcement Corvid, Bluejay. The fact that these two members of our congregation have, themselves, less than perfect reputations as spotless and sin-free citizens seems not to bother them in the least. Nor does the tradition of ‘sanctuary’ in a church. In any case, life goes on at the Church O’ The Pines, as we each do our best to rise above our imperfect natures and enjoy the beauty of Creation all around us. All the members of our humble and sometimes noisy congregation wish you Good Sabbath…